


Poison of a Feminine Sort

by Capucine



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Caring, Female Tim Drake, Fluff, Gen, Girl problems, Sibling Love, Somewhat Humorous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-23
Updated: 2015-10-23
Packaged: 2018-04-27 18:12:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5058778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Capucine/pseuds/Capucine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim, who is a girl in this story, has been Robin for about a year now. She and Dick are close, so when Batman is unavailable, she quickly contacts Dick when she thinks she's been poisoned.</p>
<p>However, it turns out it has a lot more to do with ignorance than a malevolent design...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Poison of a Feminine Sort

Tay (short for Taylor Jacqueline Drake, of course) was probably the Robin that Dick had been closest to. At first, he'd found it a little strange that Batman had taken on a girl Robin, as the title had been exclusively male before and why not just make her a Batgirl or something else?

But then he'd realized Tay was definitely Robin, from her boots to the serious woven-in braid at the top of her head. She was probably a better detective than he or Jason had ever been, and while she had to make up for general lack of natural martial arts acuity, she was still an amazing fighter and could certainly beat the shit out of the majority of their enemies.

She was about thirteen at this point, and had been Robin for a good year.

And she had brought about a sort of kind of healing between Batman and Nightwing—Bruce and Dick. Dick had returned to keep an eye on her, initially, though not an actual return to Wayne Manor or anything, just checking in. He wasn't sure he trusted Bruce with a kid after what happened to Jason, or how he treated the whole thing (not even telling Dick, for one thing? That was bullshit).

But he could see Bruce's dark storm lessen as Tay brightened it up. It wasn't that Tay was incredibly peppy or anything, though of course, most people were in contrast with Batman. But she had a quick wit, a much lighter-hearted way of seeing things than Batman, and of course, she had a tendency to make Batman proud, to show off what he'd taught her so far and to follow his code mostly to the letter.

So unlike Jason, was the sentence never spoken.

But yeah. Occasionally, Dick even went on patrols with Tay, them swinging from the rooftops, fighting criminals, and hey, stopping to treat his 'little sis' to doughnuts or a really coffee place he knew ('Even though it'll stunt your growth and make your nails black, baby bird.' '...coffee doesn't do that, Dick. That's been disproven.').

But yeah. Despite seeming to know, well, probably a million and one things or more, Tay turned out a to have a knowledge deficiency. Of sorts.

It played out rather dramatically.

Dick's heart had nearly seized up when he got the comm call from Tay.

“Nightwing, it's Robin. Come quick, my coordinates are in the system, don't delay. Please.”

“What's going on, baby bird?” he asked, though already ice was sliding up his spine. Something in Tay's voice sounded frightened and in pain, and like hell he was going to have another Jason happen. Not again, not ever again, pounded in his head as he pushed his cycle to the top speed.

“I...I've been poisoned, I think. I'm experiencing severe nausea, pain, and I'm...I'm bleeding. Please come quickly, I don't know what poison it is, it's not matching up with what I know.”

Something in Dick seemed to poke his brain then, a _this isn't quite right_ kind of feeling, but he sped on anyways, promising, “I'll be there as soon as I can be, Robin. I'm on my way. Just, don't do anything rash, okay? Breathe, and don't move around if you can.”

“Mhm,” Robin agreed, and then there was silence.

Dick arrived on the scene pretty quickly; Robin was perched on top of a roof, safely away from any enemies. She was curled against a wall, arms wrapped around her abdomen and face a little pinched. Her cape was mostly wrapped around her.

He was quick to squat down in front of her, saying, “Hey, baby bird. How are you feeling?”

She looked up at him, and bit her lip. “I'm fine, I'm, uh, it hurts, but I can handle it. I just wasn't sure if it would get worse, because at first it was just a little bit, but it's gotten bad—not like, gunshot wound bad, but, uh...” she groaned, muttering, “It's _pulsing_ , what's going on?”

Dick stared a moment, brain starting to put pieces together. “Who do you think poisoned you?”

A sort of bewilderment crossed Tay's face. “I...I don't know. I didn't really come into contact with anyone yet. And...I didn't even eat or drink anything recently, though of course, there are other access--”

“Tay.” Dick was pretty sure he knew what was going on now. “Where are you bleeding from?”

She flushed, but said, as professionally as she possibly could, “It seems to be coming from my genital area. My guess is my bladder--”

Dick laughed, a quick bark of laughter, partially because he was relieved, but he quickly cut it off when Tay looked at him with hurt and confusion. “Oh, baby bird... It's okay, I figured out what's wrong, I think. Have you, uh, started your period yet?”

Tay looked a little frozen. Finally, she said weakly, “...this is what a period is?”

Dick looked at her with as much warm understanding as he could. “Yeah. Seems like you've got a particularly bad one, but yeah. It's, uh, your body emptying out the stuff it doesn't need for a baby anymore.”

Tay just stared, like she didn't even know she could have a baby. Which, of course she did, but it was like he was making up crazy stories about how reproductive systems worked. She said, weakly again, “...why is every girl at my school so excited, then? This is horrible! Can I fix it?”

She was clearly flushed red, utterly embarrassed.

Dick sighed, though there was a fond tone to it. “You might want to talk with your doctor about that, but yeah, this is what a period is. Some call it 'becoming a woman.' Anyway, let's get you home; it'd probably be good to get you all ready for the next few days.”

“Few days?” Tay demanded, looking horrified.

“Yeah. It's not a one day thing, sorry,” Dick said apologetically. “Come on, let's get you back home. It's time, my dear baby bird, to take a break from vigilantism.”

Tay looked even more horrified, so he clarified, “Only for a few days. It won't kill you, I promise.”

She got to her feet with his hand up, and despite looking like she both wanted to kill something for inventing periods and like she just wanted to curl up somewhere and die, they made it home.

Dick got her situated: a heat pack, cozy blankets, lots of fluids, comfort food, her favorite movie, and, of course, actual sanitary napkins.

She looked at him curiously, as soon as she was settled down and a lot more comfortable than on the roof. “How do you know all this stuff?”

Dick laughed. “Well, to be honest, Babs and I were pretty close, and she had a pretty rough cycle once she got out of the whole gymnastics thing. So, yeah. I was kind of scared of that whole thing at first, but I realized that's silly. It's just a normal part of being female, right?”

Tay nodded slowly. “Yeah. Can you hand me my laptop?”

Dick nodded, and did so. He smiled to himself. “You okay? Or do you want me to stay?”

Tay bit her lip. “Uh... No, I think I'll be fine.”

Dick gave her an affectionate squeeze (around the shoulders, not the abdomen) and headed out, though not before saying, “Careful what you look up, okay?”

Tay would probably know more about the female reproductive system than he did before the night was out. 

She simply nodded, and set to work.

Dick shook his head. Ever the detective, Taylor Jacqueline Drake.

He hoped it didn't bite her in the ass and leave her calling him at all hours about Toxic Shock Syndrome or something.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I don't know what kind of periods Babs actually has, or if she has them, but eh. :)
> 
> Also, I know thirteen is kind of late, but some girls don't get their periods until like, fifteen, so Tim (or Tay) is really not that extreme. 
> 
> Hope you liked it!


End file.
